This invention relates to improvements in or relating to knitting. The invention relates in particular to a device for determining the number of stitches required in the knitting of garments.
According to the invention there is provided a device for determining the number of stitches required in the knitting of a garment, the means including two relatively movable members, one of the members having markings representing bust sizes and stitches, and the other member being adapted to be positioned with respect to the first member so that stitches may be read off against bust sizes.
In addition to having markings representing bust sizes and stitches, the first member may have further markings representing the type of knitting thread, such as wool type, for example 3-ply, 4-ply and double knit. In this arrangement the second member may be positionable with respect to the first member so that after a particular bust size and wool type have been selected, the number of stitches required in the knitting of a garment having the selected bust size and by using the wool type selected, may be read off from the first member.
The markings may conveniently be numbers. Thus the bust sizes may for example range from 32 to 44.
Conveniently, each bust size may be repeated as many times as the number of wool types which are indicated. For example, if three types of wool are indicated such as 3-ply, 4-ply and double knit, each bust size number may be repeated three times. Opposite each bust size number thus repeated, different stitch numbers will be provided in order to allow for the different type of wool employed.
The first member may have markings in respect of one garment only, or more than one garment.
The garment or garments in respect of which the number of stitches are reflected on the first member, may be illustrated on the second member or on a separate sheet, or on a pack in which the device may be packed.
The second member may be in the form of a cursor which may be transparent or opaque. When the cursor is transparent a hair line may be provided thereon by means of which the markings which represent bust sizes, stitches and wool types may be aligned during relative movement of the one member with respect to the other member. Alternatively, when the cursor is of an opaque material, windows may be provided therein through which bust sizes, wool types and stitches may be viewed. Thus when only one garment is represented on the device, three windows may be provided, namely for viewing the bust size, the wool type and the number of stitches, while if two garments are represented, four windows may be provided, namely to view bust size, wool type and one window for each of the garments for viewing the number of stitches.
The device may take several forms. In one form the members may be discs which may be pivotally secured to one another at a centrally positioned pivot which is concentric with both discs so that the discs are arcuately movable relative to one another. In this form the bottom member may have the markings thereon while the top member may be the cursor having the hair line or the windows. The top member may conveniently be larger than the bottom member, for example by being of a slight oval shape, so as to totally conceal the bottom member except for those regions of the bottom member which are visible through the windows.
In an alternative form, the relatively movable members may be two drums which are rotatably mounted with respect to one another.
As a further alternative arrangement, the relatively movable members may be mounted so as to be linearly movable with respect to one another.
The device may conveniently be provided on relatively thin sheet material, for example cardboard or a synthetic plastics material. In this form the device may be easily packed, stored, despatched and displayed.
The markings on the first member reflecting the number of stitches, may include several rows of figures. Each row of figure may represent different parts of the garment represented thereon. Knitting instructions may be provided on the top member adjacent the stitches window to provide instructions for knitting the various parts of the garment.
The invention also extends to a pack including a calculating means in accordance with the invention.